


To Lay in Your Warmth

by ThatAcePaladin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotions, Gen, Introspection, Keith (Voltron) Has Anxiety, Keith (Voltron)-centric, M/M, Post-Episode: s03e05 The Journey, Post-Episode: s07e01 A Little Adventure, Sharing a Bed, can be seen as romantic or platonic sheith, shiro does too, the Black Lion loves her Paladins, this is very soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22060216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatAcePaladin/pseuds/ThatAcePaladin
Summary: When Shiro returned to him, half-dead in the silent husk of a Galran fighter, Keith yearned for nothing more than to reassure himself that Shiro was really back, alive and breathing and not just a trick of his imagination. And when Shiro returned to him a second time, torn from the consciousness of the Black Lion and reborn through Altean alchemy and quintessence, he felt much the same, despite everything.This time, however, he knew exactly what he wanted. What heneeded.
Relationships: Keith & Shiro & Black Lion (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47
Collections: Ace Pilot Exchange 2019





	To Lay in Your Warmth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CGotAnAccount](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CGotAnAccount/gifts).



> This was done for the AP Gift Exchange, and although I kind of ran with your bed-sharing prompt, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it! Sorry that it's posting right at the wire, I got a promotion and subsequently a metric ton more hours, but I found just enough time to scrape myself together to get this done for you in time for New Year's Eve. I didn't mean for it to be this heavy but it just sort of happened, but I hope you enjoy your gift, Illune!!

“Let him rest, he’s clearly been through a lot.”

Keith knew that Allura was right, Shiro clearly had been through hell, but now that he was safely back on the castle he just couldn’t… go back to his room. What if Shiro needed him? What if something happened? What if he stopped breathing in his sleep from the oxygen deprivation or or _ or _ — 

“Keith, stop.”

Oh. He’d said that out loud.

“You’re right, I know you are, I’m just worried. We don’t know what happened to him out there and he’s scared of the pod and—”

Allura’s look was entirely sympathetic, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder. Keith felt himself go stiff, the touch all wrong without the steady weight of Shiro’s hand behind it, even though he knew Allura meant only to comfort him. He inhaled hard through his nose and forced himself to breathe it out slowly, letting some of the anxiety unwind from around his bones in the process.

“It's been an eventful day, for both of you. Rest, Shiro will be here in the morning and you can see him then after you’ve both gotten a good night’s sleep.”

Keith inhaled sharply and nodded, staring off in the direction of Shiro’s quarters as Allura walked away. He knew that she was right and that he should listen to her, but his heart was still hammering and his thoughts all muddied with questions and fears that refused to settle.

He owed Shiro a chance to rest.

His feet were in motion before he really had a chance to realize it, and even when he did, he didn’t make any real effort to stop himself. It was selfish of him, he knew that, and that was what finally made him stop. He was only a few paces away from Shiro’s room but now his feet had turned to lead, stomach sour with the thought. Shiro would let him rest, he needed to do the same.

With a deep sigh, Keith forced himself to keep walking, past Shiro’s door, and towards the observation deck. The stars would keep him company long enough for the urge to pass.

* * *

The infinite wonders of the cosmos were able to arrest his thoughts for three hours before he snuck back to Shiro’s room and quietly slipped inside, desperate to check on him.

“Why aren’t you asleep, Keith?”

Keith swallowed at the awful rasp of his voice, stomach twisting in knots at how wrong it sounded. Part of him wanted to beg him to use the pod, anything to take the pain out of his every movement and word. It was eating him alive to know that Shiro had been hurt so badly and he hadn’t known and hadn’t been there to protect him.

“I— I was just walking,” Keith shrugged one shoulder helplessly, voice cracking under the pressure to lie. He’d waited until the others had gone to their quarters to sneak back, unable to stand the thought of resting quietly while Shiro was here, steps away but seemingly lightyears apart.

“... it's so late, Keith. You should be asleep,” it was so dark in the room that Keith could barely see him, but he heard the rustling of the sheets plain as day. Shiro was going to get up and walk him back to his room. Keith’s blood ran cold and he sputtered.

“N-no it's okay, you don’t have to get up,” he said, far too quickly, but heard Shiro stop regardless, “I just… I wanted to check on you.”  _ I wanted to make sure you were still here, that today wasn’t a dream.  _ The room was silent for a beat too long and Keith began to fear he’d overstepped some boundary, some invisible line in the sand.

“I’m okay, Keith,” Shiro’s voice was a painful wheeze, “I’m okay, I’m here, I promise.” Of course, he saw straight through Keith’s intentions, right to the heart of it. Keith felt at once stripped bare and truly known. It was a dizzying emotional cocktail that threatened to bubble over at any moment. He opened his mouth to try and say something, anything, but all that came out was a paltry whimper, too overwhelmed to think of anything coherent. 

It was hard to see in the low light but he could tell that Shiro’s brow was creased, that the corner of his mouth was ticked downwards in concern, could feel the worry radiating off of him. He’d been so aware of Shiro’s body language that even months, even years, couldn’t wipe even the smallest detail from his memory. It made Keith’s throat close up, his breathing staggered and thick.

Shiro made a soft sound and Keith could hear the blankets rustling, and for a terrifying second he was afraid that Shiro was going to try to get up again, to try and comfort him. He inhaled sharply and heard Shiro pause, his shadow hunched and small in the dark, and saw a glint of light reflect off of the prosthetic as he held his hand out to him.

“Keith, are  _ you _ okay? Why aren’t you in bed?” he looked between Shiro’s shadowed face and the offered hand, somewhat hysterical with the thought that Shiro was worried about  _ him _ at that moment.

In a moment of panic, Keith blurted out the only thing he could think of: “I can’t sleep in my room.”

For a long second, neither of them moved, the room entirely silent.

“You can’t sleep in—why?” even in the dark, Keith knew that Shiro’s eyebrows had scrunched up in confusion, “did something happen?”

“Uhh.” Keith said, eloquently, “Y-yeah, its… gone.”

Keith could practically feel as his soul left his body. He was an  _ idiot _ .

“Gone.” Shiro sounded somewhere between amused and exasperated.

“Yep.” Keith’s voice was an octave too high and he was sure his cheeks were bright red. Luckily the darkness was kind enough to hide that.

There was a moment of silence before, soft and strained, he heard a wheezing chuckle as Shiro’s form shook in the dark corner of his cot. Some of the tension leaked from Keith’s frame as the soft noise grew louder, a genuine laugh bubbling out of Shiro. It was the best thing Keith had ever heard, even rough and thick with disuse. Even if he was going to feel like an idiot in the morning, it was worth it just to hear Shiro laugh.

“Gone,” Shiro repeated, his tone light and almost playful, “if it's gone, where are you going to sleep, then?”

Keith was sure Shiro only meant it as a joke but it struck him cold, his heart rabbiting and tripping over itself. It was in jest, a tease, something outlandish, he tried to assure himself. He couldn’t let what his heart so desperately wanted to be true color over Shiro’s intentions. 

“N-nowhere,” Keith said, then winced, “I’ll… I’ll sleep in the Lion. Wouldn’t be the first time.” The joke fell flat, too much truth leaking into that simple statement. Shiro made a soft, gutted sound, the teasing gone in an instant.

“Keith, you can stay in here tonight,” Shiro’s offer was soft, heartfelt and solid, “I’d feel better if you were here.” And, well, Keith had never refused a request from Shiro, why start now?

“Okay.” Keith breathed and watched as Shiro moved, creating space for him on the bed. He moved without thinking, not even taking the time to remove his boots or jacket before he slid under the blanket, curling into Shiro’s warmth. He could feel the instant easing of Shiro’s body, how his form smoothed and slumped into the bed as if he’d been holding his breath until Keith finally got close. It made Keith’s heart squirm and he didn’t even pretend to resist the urge to curl closer. 

He fell asleep quickly and didn’t wake once the entire night.

* * *

The Black Lion’s presence was a soft hum in the back of his head, little more than a comforting rumble but reassuring nonetheless. As long as Black was purring she was awake enough to keep an eye on Shiro and the others. Ever since he’d bonded with her after the assault on Zarkon he’d treated her like a machine, a replacement, a symbol of what he’d lost when Shiro died. Now he knew her for  _ her _ , and that her love for Shiro was equal to his own.

_ our Love wakes, my Own, go to him _

He’d long grown used to Black’s strange way of speaking, more so when Shiro woke from the pod speaking the same way; spending so long as part of her consciousness had taken a toll on him, had manifested in strange ways. He pressed a button on the control panel and stood from the pilot seat, removing his helmet as he walked back towards the cargo hold. It was almost second nature, now, and Black opened the way for him without needing any prompting.

She was still weak and low on power, her internal lights a barely-there flickering violet, but Keith could see just fine. His mother and the wolf were sleeping on one of the cots, Shiro on the other, curled up as small as he could manage under the thin blanket. Keith set his helmet on top of one of the boxes that littered the hold, loud enough that he knew Shiro would hear it, before he sat down on the edge of the cot.

“... you should be sleeping,” Keith said, softly, hand seeking out Shiro’s shoulder. He could just barely feel the cold chill of the metal socket through the blanket.

“I thought I was supposed to say that,” Shiro replied with thin humor, his mouth ticked up into a small smile regardless. His eyes were tired, hazy with exhaustion, half-hidden under the silver of his hair. Black’s purr shifted in his mind, wrapping around his bones and nestling under his ribcage, a warm star of a second heart. It made his stomach twist to know that Shiro had been severed from her completely, couldn’t feel her love for him anymore, but it was the only way that Allura could save him. It wasn’t fair, cruel even, but he knew that Black would do it all over again to save Shiro. So would Keith.

“You haven’t slept since we left the last sector,” Keith murmured and brushed his fingers through Shiro’s bangs, content to just watch his chest rise and fall with each breath. “A little blackbird has been worried about you, Shiro.” A brittle, raw smile broke over Shiro’s features, there and gone in a heartbeat. The loss was still a bleeding wound but it was healing, among a hundred others that came from his return to the mortal realm.

“Can you tell her I’m sorry for worrying her?” his voice was a thready thing, barely audible, thick with an emotion that Keith couldn’t quite place.

“She knows, Shiro. I don’t have to tell her for you,” Keith assured, hand resting against Shiro’s cheek, thumb swiping gently over the arch of his cheekbones. “She still loves you,” he continued, pausing to lean down closer to him, so he wouldn’t go unheard, “you should hear what she calls you, now.”

Black sang in his head, glittering starlight and glowing nebulas.

_ my Own, my Chosen, our Love _

“She calls you ‘ _ our Love _ ’. Her Chosen.” Keith whispered, watching the surprise dawn over Shiro’s face, unguarded and open. Black purred audibly, rumbling around them both so even Shiro could hear, the lights flashing brighter for a breath of time. A fragile sound choked out of Shiro’s throat and Keith hushed him, leaning down until his forehead was pressed to Shiro’s own, both of his hands coming up to frame his face.

“We love you, Shiro,” Shiro shivered beneath him, a sob hiccuping out of him, “She loves you. I love you. Nothing can change that.” He lowered himself down onto the cot, draping his body over Shiro’s, able to feel the full-body shudder that rippled through him from the contact. He knew touch was still a lot for him, but he also knew Shiro needed a grounding point, something tangible and real to focus on.

He leaned forward the last few inches and pressed a chaste kiss to Shiro’s cheek, finally pulling away a bit to give him room to breathe. His eyes were glossy, eyelashes dark and clumped with unshed tears, but he was smiling and that was what mattered.

“Do you want me to stay until you fall asleep?” Keith offered, hands drifting up to play and run through Shiro’s hair, knowing that it relaxed him.

“Please,” he breathed, eyes fluttering shut under the attention, the tense stiffness in his muscles softening the slightest bit. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Keith smiled softly to himself, gently scratching his nails against Shiro’s scalp, letting himself marvel at the fact that Shiro was here, alive and whole, despite everything that had happened.

It seemed like a lifetime ago when he’d done much the same thing back on the Castle-ship. This time the roles were reversed, yet somehow the same. Shiro had returned and Keith was there to help him through it, even though Shiro’s presence alone was enough to ease Keith’s own fears and doubts. He pulled the blanket over the both of them, soaking in the warmth of Shiro’s body, and let himself drift asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to poke me [on my NSFW](https://twitter.com/Neurotenical) or [SFW twitter accounts!](https://twitter.com/ThatAcePaladin)


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